National People’s Power (NPP) leader MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake says that his party will not join or support the all-party government proposed by President Ranil Wickremesinghe. 

“We clearly stated that if an all-party government is to be formed, all parties joining the all-party government must have equal rights within it,” he told reporters in Colombo today.

He said that is why they proposed that the newly-appointed President and the Prime Minister should not have any future political aspirations and that everyone can then get together and make an all-party government. 

The NPP leader said if a national consensus government is formed in that manner it would function for a short period of around six months in order to restore normalcy in the country with regard to the fuel supplies, transport services, reopening schools and state institutions. 

He said that once normalcy has been ensured within six months the people can be given the opportunity to provide a mandate for a new government. “That is our idea of the all-party government,” he said.

However, he said that the all-party government proposed by President has Ranil Wickremesinghe as President, Dinesh Gunawardena as Prime Minister and a government formed with SLPP members. 

“Now they are asking to come saying its ‘all-party’,” he said, adding that that would only make them “shareholders of the Ranil-Rajapaksa government” and not part of an all-party government. 

Dissanayake also said that at no point has the President mentioned the duration of the all-party government proposed by him and claimed that this hints that the President intends to continue with the current government for the duration of the current Parliament’s term. 

“Therefore we will not join any such government proposed by President Ranil Wickremesinghe. Because what he is proposing is not an all-party government, it is for other groups to assist a government formed with the leadership of himself and the Rajapaksas,” he said. 

He said that they have proposed a proper all-party government where all parties involved will have equal rights and equally involved in the decision-making, however that was unsuccessful. 

However, he stated that if the “Ranil-Rajapaksa” government is prepared to present a certain short-term programme to resolve the economic crisis, they would be willing to submit their ideas and proposals for that based on the positive aspects of that programme.